Trust can be an impenetrable thing. We like to be in control of everything ourselves, some of us more than others, “Being still” before God means that we quiet our anxious thoughts, we put our phones down, we eliminate all distractions, we get alone with God and we pray. We wait. We trust. It’s an act of relinquishing and consecrating all to God control of our lives. When you give your life to Him, He takes care of every detail. This is something that I am learning constantly, and still learning to do when I feel I can’t trust anyone or anything else that is going on.

One of the worlds greatest picture collections is found in this book, “The Royal Collection Treasures” involving masterpieces, splendours of the decorative arts, for example, I will touch on different sections such as furniture, or sculptures. It is not just only a collection, but a collection on collections which contain works of art.

I love the categories that I am going to share with you. It involves drawings, paintings, books, gems, tapestries, silver, porcelain, etc.

Surprisingly, the book says it is wholly unlike a museum collection which I thought that I would! But the British National Collections selectively provide a wide-ranging depiction of the arts and sciences with a specific purpose of showing the public what there is in an educating way.Continue reading “The Royal Collection Treasures”→

Most old english pieces of literature and manuscript origins, authorship and early history are quite unknown. I particularly liked and picked up an “old English poetry” book from Scarborough library that I am absolutely loving. Sometimes I feel like it is a bit more eloquent than I could ever be! But my interest in English Literature is widening, and I especially like poems that have a biblical sense to it.

This book is made up of different ‘books’, for example, there is the Vercelli book, and the Exeter book, which has meaning behind the words.

It is a broad view of Anthology of British Literature, and there is a complete range of lyrics that I decided to pick ones I like and share them with you.

I probably have already said this, but I love reading. I like to keep cultured, and have a love for history, art and language. I have only done one post on My Book Collection mentioning 20 books to read for this year, but this year is closing sooner than I think! I thought it would be a good idea to do a book review on one of them, or on a favourite book of mine.

1. One of my FAVOURITE books is “The Undomestic Goddess” written by Sophie Kinsella. She is one of the best writers out there! She is extremely exceptional at English language and comes up with witty characters. So she writes with great articulation and vocalisation.

This is a story about a office lady working for Carter Spink. 29 year old Samantha Sweeting is a high-powered lawyer in London working onwards and upwards for that career climb to be a partner for the firm. She works long hours, and has no home life putting all her energy into her work life, until…..

One day she makes a terrible mistake. Costing her career!!!!! She gets terrified thinking she will be fired from her hardworking job.

Instead of speaking to the boss she walks right out of the office, gets on the first train she sees, and then finds herself at a stately house in the countryside where they have mistaken her for their maid! She ends up working as a maid for a big, beautiful house in the middle of nowhere and works there instead.

Not knowing how to turn on the oven, Samantha learns how to do home duties, things she could never do before in her life!!!!!

She learns how to bake, cook, do laundry, iron, etc and during this time learns to love this new life in a wholly unexpected way.

Her employers don’t know she’s really a lawyer, educated at Cambridge with an IQ of 158 from London. So, she learns to live the life of a housekeeper.

A lawyer turned housekeeper is an interesting turn of events and the ending is even more surprising!

This book does NOT disappoint! Does she go back to her job? Or does she keep on working as a housemaid?

To me, it’s the greatest heart-warming piece of chick-lit! Full of laughs and fun! Kinsella is full of genuine charm in writing this book. I read this book within like TWO days! It is that funny and contemporary!

I am currently reading the second book in the shopaholic series. My favourite series ever!!!!! Everyone knows the first book, “Confessions of a shopaholic” and this second book is more about shopping!!!!!

Becky Bloomwood has been offered a job in New York! So there’s The Museum of Modern Art! The Guggenheim! The Metropolitan Opera House! And Becky Bloomwood does mean to go to them all, honestly. It’s just that it seems silly to not check out a few other famous places first, like……

Saks, Bloomingdales and Barneys! Yep! The famous SHOPS!!!!!

And one of those fantastic sample sales where you can get a Prada dress for $10, or was it $100!!???

Get ready for the BIGGEST culture shop of your life.

3. The third book I want to talk about is actually based on ancestors of mine!!!! It is called “Separate Lives” by Gwen Chessell.

She became interested in the story of Sir George and Lady Eliza Grey when writing on Sir Richard Spencer (my greatx4 grandfather) who is Eliza Grey’s father.

Here is a snapshot of the blurb:

I am only just starting on the book, so I can’t give a detailed review just yet, but this book intrigues me because of the history.

Eliza Lucy Spencer was born early in November 1823 and was welcome in a close-knit family, and she joined her two brothers, Hugh Seymour and Edward, and her sisters, Mary Ann and little Augusta. Eliza’s father was Captain Richard Spencer (as mentioned previously), a sailor hero of the Napoleonic Wars and perhaps the illegitimate son of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her mother a member of the local gentry.

The Spencer family lived in a large house above the harbour, but picturesque little haven encircled since early medieval times by the arms of the ancient Cobb. Living in Lyme Regis.

In 1830 when Eliza was seven years old, her father had decided that they emigrate to Australia. They thought of New South Wales or Tasmania. They ended up settling at Strawberry Hill Farm in Albany, Western Australia.

(I got a picture taken of myself here when I was 29. On my “Travels in Australia” post. I was so glad because my grandmother had a photo of herself here as well. )

So, in February 1833, the life of the family changed abruptly. On 22 February Richard Spencer was knighted the accolade of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order being in King William IV’s personal gift to him.

The town of Albany was the first settlement on the western side of Australia. It had been established in 1826. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver had taken possession of the region and had given the name King George’s sound to the Seward approach to what would become Albanys harbour, in honour of King George III.

The promontory overlooking the harbour opening off the Sound and Vancouver named this after George III’s grand-daughter, Princess Charlotte, calling it Princess Royal Harbour.

If you love history, especially in Australia, this book you will LOVE! Gwen writes historical biographies with a special emphasis on 19th century colonial personalities.

It is a very interesting book, and I would love to write just like her! She writes with a gripping and engaging flair! And I was so excited to receive a reply from her when I decided to email her! How wondrous! She lives in England and visits Australia to do author talks every now and then. So, like I said if you have a fondness for Australian history/literature, THIS you will utterly be ardent about.

It is a novel about a lady Julia who leaves India doing missionary work to go to England to be a governess to the Ramsey children at Highland Hall in Berkshire. William Ramsey is a widowed father and he and Julia fall in love which reminds me a lot of The Sound of Music!!!!

I recommend to all women this novel, if you like the series Downton Abbey, THIS you will love!!!

The second book in the series is “The Daughter of Highland Hall” which wasn’t as good as the first one in my own honest opinion, but I am currently reading the third book to it in the Edwardian Bride Series, A Refuge at Highland Hall which is about the character, Penny and her friendship with a British pilot, Alex.

I have borrowed some books from the library on London in the Victorian Era and the 18th century. I am fascinated by this sort of thing and history especially.

2. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

This I read when I was a young teenager, but am adding to this years reading again. To some people it may seem either verbose or too wordy, but I was able to get through it at a young age, and some may think its dry, but from what I remember I absolutely loved it!

Not in particular order, but library books come first because I don’t want fines again!! I love ticking off books on the Good Reads App. And it is my 2016 goal to read twenty books. Making a challenge sets you on surpassing things, and I will be taking a book with me everywhere I go!!

What you decide to read affects your future and it educates you. I am making more and more goals for myself this year and reading twenty books is still quite a lot when you think about it!!!

Having a hunger for new words is like a proclivity. I adulate it. And can’t wait to start studying again this year, Certificate IV in Library and Information Services. What a capacious course!! It will lead me into a prodigious trajectory. I am psyched!!!

Well, there’s my twenty texts and novels for this year. I probably won’t write another blog on books till next year, depending on what’s happening in my life!

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